The Cowboys hope DeMarcus Ware adds to sack total Thursday against the Redskins. / Matthew Emmons, US Presswire

by Robert Klemko, USA TODAY Sports

by Robert Klemko, USA TODAY Sports

IRVING, Texas - Dallas Cowboys defensive coordinator Rob Ryan says he doesn't like Robert Griffin III. And though he may not blitz him very much, he'd like to see him on his back Thursday.

"He's a special player, and that's why they traded half the team to get him," Ryan says of the Washington Redskins rookie quarterback, who will make his pro debut in his home state on Thanksgiving. "They say he's a hell of a kid. I don't like him.

"Hopefully he'll have a bad Thanksgiving."

Cowboys linebacker DeMarcus Ware plans on making it so.

Ware told USA TODAY Sports he won't hesitate to rush the edge with abandon when Griffin drops back, or when the Redskins show the read-option look which Ryan joked he last saw as a college coach in the late 1990s.

"You've got to be aggressive. You can't just sit back there because he can throw the ball," Ware says. "You don't want to leave your cornerbacks on an island. You can't have a spy guy mentality. We have to put pressure on him."

Dallas coaches will rely on Ware to come through on that front. Ryan told reporters Wednesday it won't make too much sense to send excessive pressure at RGIII, explaining: "You've got to be smart. You've got to pick your spots."

The stats back Ryan up. When teams commit extra rushers to pressuring Griffin, he's completed almost 66% of his passes with seven TDs and one interception for a 126.3 passer rating, according to ProFootballFocus.com.

If Dallas (5-5) isn't planning on blitzing Washington (4-6), it will have to rely on the defensive line and the rush-committed outside linebackers, especially Ware, to disrupt Griffin. That's a problem for the Cowboys, who rank 21st with just 20 sacks this season. Last year, they finished seventh with 42.

But sacks can be a deceptive statistic, explains Ryan.

"I see some teams get about eight sacks in a quarter and they get their ass kicked," Ryan says. "We don't worry about these totals. We'll just rest on, 'Well, how's DeMarcus doing? Oh, he's doing good. Well, OK.'

"Sacks, they're part of the game. We want to get to the quarterback. We've hit the damn quarterback a lot. I'm sure we've hit them just as many times as some of the teams that are leading the league in that category."

Not so fast, coach.

The Cowboys also have fewer hits on quarterbacks (44) than they did at this stage last year.

So what's the problem? It would be difficult to point the finger at Ware, who has at least a half-sack in every game since Sept. 23. He's only been shut out once all season. His 10 sacks put him on pace for 16, shy of his total of 19½ in 2011. But Ware ranks fifth in the league in pressures per opportunity.

Considering Redskins left tackle Trent Williams' comments this week, you might think Ware is way better than just fifth.

"I hardly ever just look forward to going against him because he's a true definition of the word nightmare," Williams told The Washington Post of Ware. "But I do like the competition that going against him brings and the rivalry between our two teams. So it's an exciting time, but it's also very stressful."

The big problem is Dallas' three-man front, where defensive end Marcus Spears has never been known (or really asked) to harass quarterbacks, and nose tackle Jay Ratliff has been limited by injuries. Ratliff, who is now dealing with a groin problem, was not seen at practice Wednesday in the portion open to the media.

But as Ryan says on the topic of injuries, "Hell, you know our philosophy: 90% of people out there couldn't care less if you've got problems (and) the other 10% are glad you do."